For Pat and Bern

I suspect I know less about this bit of history than you! At school the Middle Ages were somewhat neglected, instead we spent a lot of time on the French Revolution. I only remember Friedrich Barbarossa because we had to learn the poem by Uhland;-)

I don't know the Uhland poem, Gudrun but the romantic aura of the Hohenstaufens lingered on, very probably without real foundation, for centuries.
At the end of the day, after all is said and done, they were simply dynasts with the ethos of 'family first'. I guess they they were the template for the Hapsburgs!

Thanks once again, Doug!

A terrific capture Andy, haven't heard from Pat for a while, last time she emailed Bern was quite ill and housebound. They live less than an hour from me.